The present embodiments relate to medical diagnostic ultrasound imaging. In particular, views of desired planes are extracted from echocardiographic data representing a volume.
Three-dimensional (3D) ultrasound imaging systems are used for 3D echocardiography. 3D echocardiography allows evaluation of both morphology and pathology. Research studies have shown that 3D analysis provides more precise information about the pathophysiology of the heart than conventional analysis of two-dimensional (2D) views and is of particular help for volume and ejection fraction (EF) calculation. However, interpretation and quantitative analysis of the 3D volumetric data is more complex and time consuming than that of conventional two-dimensional (2D) echocardiography. Detection of anatomical structures in 3D volumetric data may allow better analysis, but may be used less for diagnosis due to complexity.
Standard views are used to visualize cardiac structures and are the starting point of many echocardiographic examinations. For example, all four chambers, i.e., left and right ventricles, and left and right atria, are present in the apical four chamber (A4C) view. In the apical three chamber (A3C) view, the left ventricle, the left atrium, and the aorta are present. In a 3D volume, such views can be re-constructed as multiplanar reformatted/reconstruction (MPR) planes. Finding the standard 2D planes in a 3D volume may improve consistency among users and may be used to adjust acquisition parameters for better image quality.
Although 3D echocardiographic volumes provide much richer information about a heart than 2D echocardiographic images, a heart can be located in different positions with various orientations within each volume. It is time consuming for users to navigate through a 3D volume to search the target structure. A major barrier for using 3D echocardiography for quantitative analysis of heart function in routine clinical practice is the absence of accurate and robust detection methods necessary to make the analysis automatic. In addition to the ultrasound operator's capability, other factors including transducer selection, instrument settings, patient comfort and positioning, the configuration of the scan, and the patient's breathing pattern may affect the quality of the ultrasound images or data for analysis. This leads to large appearance variations and inconsistent image qualities, which makes the automatic detection task much more difficult.